Category Archives: Back in US
And All I Did Was Type
I watch my colleague as he uses two fingers to painstakingly type and send out an email. It wasn’t a long message but it took him awhile to complete it on his laptop. I almost pulled the keyboard from him so I could do it myself but I held onto my patience.
I could so easily have been just like him. Instead, I have strong keyboarding skills that I learned a long, long, long time ago. Little did I know how much I would come to value them!
I had just finished my tenth grade of high school and my life was about to hurtle out of control.
Starting college – technically “Pre-University” to complete my 11th and 12th grades before starting on my degree, and then finding myself engaged to get married to some stranger in a country and continent far, far away. It was all too much!
I had a few months before I would be whisked away so I decided to quit my pre-university and go spend time living with my parents in the small town which they called home. I figured that I could always go to school later on in life but that that special time with my mom and dad would never come back again. Not sure where I got this wisdom but I never regretted that decision!
As the days passed, I found myself restless and had to something with all my free time. So my dad suggested that I spend a couple of hours each day to learn how to type. Maybe he thought I could be a secretary when I grew up? Whatever it was (serendipity?), I decided I would do it just to so I had something productive to do for part of the time.
What a lucky move that was!
In a small, dingy room no more than 10 X 10 feet were about five typewriters. Every morning for those few months, I would go and learn from this old man – a retired professor as it turned out, who was determined to teach me how to be a fine typist. I had to learn how the keyboard was organized, how my fingers should be positioned on the keys and practice, practice, practice. Then, practice some more.
By the time I was done, I was one fine typist indeed. But I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do with this skill. Soon enough (too soon!), it was time to get married and leave India for the US so there was really not much time to contemplate any of this anyway.
Little did I know that it was a skill I would use during every single day of my career. How much time have I saved all these years? I can guarantee it adds up to a large amount given how much written (typed!) communication there has been over the years. I can look back now and see that it was one smart move, unnoticed at that time. It turned out to be more worthwhile than whatever I would have learned in college for those few months.
No two-finger typing for me, oh no. No looking at the keyboard while I type. Just as I think about what I want to write, my fingers begin typing effortlessly. Such a basic skill, yet such massive dividends it has paid! There were no real goals, no big plans, just another small, accidental gift on my life’s journey.
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You can never have too many shoes. Or can you?
Last weekend was primed for relaxation after having survived yet another winter storm.
One way to do that was to take off on a shopping spree with my girlfriends. Sigh, but there were many bargains to be had…
So, I ended up with nine pairs of new shoes and let me tell you that they were all mine for the cost of a third of a Jimmy Choo. They were all great brands too – mid-market but high quality everything from Lauren to Anne Klein. Hard to resist when they are offered up at a fraction of the original price.
The receipt told me that I had saved over $600. In the true American way, to save you have got to spend. 😉 And then there’s always that nice feeling of satisfaction of having done something positive for the American economy.
After all, how could I not have those cute purple suede pumps? I mean, how could I not??!
You think I am kidding? Have you never heard the saying – “if the shoe fits, buy it in every color”?
One of my friends on the expedition told me that I had done very well considering that 9 is a good odd number (what is it with Indians and odd numbers, anyway?) and that this would bring me good luck. See, that’s what good friends are for.
As I was lamenting about where I would put all these shoes, my good friends (they are so good with advice) told me I had to throw away at least that many pairs of old ones from my closet. Throw away, give away but just get them outta there!
It was really much-needed advice. I am very, very poor at doing this, but I was determined, absolutely resolute about overcoming my weakness this time around. While Saturday was for bringing in the new, Sunday was reserved for throwing away the old.
Instead of putting a band-aid on the wound, I went straight for surgery. The result was that I found thirty (3-0) pairs that I was able to clear out. Major accomplishment!
Lest you think I am Imelda Marcos, let me assure you that these shoes were collected and used over several years. Sure, I do have a kind of low resistance for a good (or cute) pair of shoes but I must inform you that that should not have me relegated to having some type of mental illness. At least, I hope not.
The feeling of lightness and liberation was fantastic once I had bagged all the shoes to be given away (only two pairs were bad enough that they went straight into the dustbin). The next step is to move the bags from my garage to Salvation Army.
I confess I really want to feel that lightness again. It’s a good thing that I know I have lots more clean-up – not just shoes but clothes, books (the silly and bad ones), paperwork, other junk I have accumulated…maybe even unpleasant memories. Best to get them out of the way!
So, I have resolved to use at least one band-aid per week, and conduct one major surgery every 4-6 weeks. I can’t wait!
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Photo credit:
Red shoes: By Albi V R (originally posted to Flickr as Good girls go bad) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons
The Yin and Yang of Life Anywhere 